<p>A few years ago, Bill Gates drove a Honda minivan, but we moved from the neighborhood so don’t know what he’s driving now.</p>
<p>People with a LOT of money, don’t spend more than necessary.
But there will always be people who live in a cracker box but spend money on flashy cars and shoes.
Never understood that.
The most noticeable car in our neighborhood is a Tesla.
Which really is pretty reasonably priced.</p>
<p>PG–I’m not a showy person so I don’t know what you mean by being “outwardly showy”?? I get it’s not a good idea to tell the local newspaper society columnist (do they even have those anymore?) that you’re going on an around-the-world cruise. I guess I’m curious what you think makes someone’s lifestyle overly showy? </p>
<p>Many security people suggest that the wealthy tone it down for safety reasons. There are, on average, 90 kidnappings in the US annually. This includes infants from hospital nurseries, but also executives kidnapped and held for ransom. I do not know the exact number of the latter, but when a ransom is paid and the person Is released, it often does not make the papers because that would just increase the practice. (One of my neighbors was an FBI agent)</p>
<p>Physicians are less exposed to kidnapping than business execs because companies carry more insurance for ransom demands. Kidnapping is not for amateurs. </p>
<p>The Exxon kidnapping some years ago is an example of one that did not go well. </p>
<p>Of course, most of his house is underground or hidden, so you can’t even see it. You can boat right in front of it, and usually there’s nobody out there watching. We always joke that we should start heading straight for the dock at high speed, and see who jumps out of the grass, but we don’t want to make the newspaper.</p>
<p>I suspect most people here have a nicer house than Warren Buffet does, in Omaha. Can’t believe he has stayed there, all these years. I was based there about 30 years ago, and he still had that same house.</p>
<p>I am in the process of selling my house and moving to a less-desirable neighborhood. It is bordered by lower-income, multifamily housing and has a not-great grade school. But it’s perfectly nice and has some attributes I want. Ironically, the only billionaire in the community (one of only a few in my state) lives just around the corner, and has for 25 years. Not everyone scales up when their income does.</p>
<p>My former boss has always had more money than he knew what to do with but lived modestly in the suburbs and never upscaled. He was a very grounded guy and liked being understated. There are quite a few people like him that feel no need to advertise their wealth.</p>
<p>Gates had full size evergreens installed.
Which blows me away. I think that would have been so cool to do. <B back hoes.</p>
<p>I never really understood Broadmoor.
I can see lving in a gated community in Kansas City or elsewhere with a high crime rate, but Madison Park?
Then again my brother lved in a gated community in Indiana, with views of the golf course and about #%^+ his pants when he tried to buy a house in this area. Plus he moved back here at the peak of the bubble, I told him to rent for a couple years till he decided where he wanted to live, but did he listen?</p>
<p>I like Steve Jobs’ house too. That would be more than enough for me.</p>
<p>I don’t understand “homes” like Larry Ellison’s. There is nothing warm or human-sized about places like that. I understand why people pay more for a great view, beautiful neighborhood, or convenient location, but I have never gotten the appeal of monster houses.</p>
<p>Compare the approaches of Gates and Buffet to the former CEO of Worldcomm, though. He gave himself a party that was lavish beyond belief including a statue of a male nude with champagne spouting from its [fill in the blank, since the CC software would asterisk it out]. I believe the newspapers listed a shower curtain at his house worth more than $1,000. </p>
<p>"The jurors saw 21 minutes of what had been a four-hour videotape. State Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus, who is presiding at Kozlowski and Swartz’s larceny trial, ordered some segments removed, saying they could prejudice the jury against the defendants and were irrelevant to whether they had committed any crimes.</p>
<p>The portions removed include shots of an anatomically correct ice sculpture of Michelangelo’s “David” urinating vodka, two men dressed as ancient Romans carrying Kozlowski’s wife over their heads, and a scene in which a man drops his pants for the camera.</p>
<p>Tyco party planner Barbara Jacques testified that singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett and his group were flown in at a cost of $250,000."</p>
<p>Not everyone who drives nice cars does so to show off their wealth. Some people love cars, love the wonderful handling /comfort/features that some cars provide. And I agree with cbreeze that most people probably don’t care what others are driving. </p>
<p>I often wonder why it is seen as something particularly admirable when someone lives far below their means.</p>
<p>But the alternative of living right at or above one’s means results in feeling “poor” no matter how high one’s income is. Also probably more worries of being one unexpected expense away from financial disaster.</p>
<p>“I often wonder why it is seen as something particularly admirable when someone lives far below their means.”</p>
<p>Go back to the thread subject. People who are well-to-do but live at their means will always be worried about keeping up with others, and hence feel poor the moment their neighbors have a new goodie of some sort. </p>
<p>You’re assuming that people who buy luxury items buy them to impress others. I know people who truly enjoy certain luxury items and buy them for that reason alone.</p>
<p>Ever since my husband semi retired and started doing non profit work, he now drives an american pick up truck he bought used and permanently retired his expensive watches. </p>
<p>I’ve never been very flashy about stuff since I grew up with blue collar parents.</p>
<p>We have been extremely fortunate in life, for some reason, and are busy trying to find ways to do useful things for other people now. This is a great joy.</p>
<p>Oh, but I can’t resist really great restaurants. I just can’t .</p>
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